Yasashii Yoake
by mika zero-zero twenty-one
Summary: After a battle, Joe gets lost in a bad storm. When he finally is home, Francoise stays up with him the entire night. Despite all the warnings, she refuses to go to bed for some reason. [songfic, 009x003, oneshot]


The idea is courtesy Sadie-yan. She's been stealing my J-pop, and one of her favorites got the idea for this story moving. Once more, it's a one shot. I don't own the song or Cyborg 009. Oh yes, this is the TRANSLATED version! Please go to animelyrics (dot) com for the Romanji. Yasashii Yoake is the end theme to .hack/SIGN! It is performed by See-saw and literally means "Gentle Dawn".

My only warnings are for FLUFF. Be ready for a lot of it. Errr…at least, be ready for a somewhat sad story with a lot of interventions that appear as fluff.

lyrics are **bolded**

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Yasashii Yoake

A songfic one-shot

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**Searching for eternity, you are a frivolous dreamer  
****Clinging to unreliable dreams. Where are you going?**

Silence was all around. That was all. Occasionally, she could tune into the howl of the wind in the storm, but had practiced tuning it out for other purposes. All she wanted was to find him. He was trapped out there, in the cold and the rain, and no one knew where he was. She could only hope and focus all her energy to search him out with her finely tuned hearing and enhanced vision.

The moment he got back, she'd be able to hold him once more and smell his comforting scent. Life would continue on and the storms would be over. She wouldn't have to worry about him getting lost any more. He would be safe, with all of them, and they'd stay that way. Never again would she have to see unnecessary bloodshed or foul robots.

Her focus suddenly snapped as a clap of lightning streaked across the sky and thunder made its entrance with an earth-shattering _boom_. She gasped and laid a hand over her neck, but soon realized that she was fine. Again she brought her focus to finding him in the rain, though she was loosing hope fast. That was the one thing she couldn't do, or else she'd never find him, and he'd die. He'd die in the cold, in the rain and wind, without them. Without her, without hope.

All Francoise Arnoul wanted was to find Joe Shimamura, wherever he'd gotten to.

**Searching for the key to open twilight, I cry,  
****Unable to reach the moon's shadow. Where am I going?**

He tried accelerating again. It was no use. He'd run out of energy half an hour ago. So on he walked, head bent to the pounding rain and tearing winds. Long since had the water sunk in past the red fabric of his uniform and the cold penetrated the deepest levels of his artificial body. From nowhere at all, he began to wonder what time it was. All he knew was that it had been hours since they had gotten rid of the last cyborg and half an hour ago he'd finally blown acceleration.

There was one last thing he could try, but he doubted it would work. He could try reaching Francoise or one of the others. Had he already tried that? He could hardly remember where his feet were and how to move his legs, let alone attempt contact. But he knew that giving everything up meant dying, and he wasn't ready to die this time. He had won and he wanted to keep that victory.

(Francoise? Jet? 003? 002? 001? Can you hear me?) He tried, finally standing still and rubbing his hands up and down against his arms. His wet hair was plastered to his face, eliminating any hope of seeing about four feet ahead of himself, should someone be out looking for him.

(Joe! Joe! Oh my God, are you okay? Are you hurt? Stand still, Jet's coming to get you!) Francoise babbled with nervous relief in her mental voice. Joe laughed with positive relief and exhaustion. Francoise had found him and Jet was on his way.

(Tell him to hurry, it's cold.) Joe mentioned. He wasn't kidding. He sat on the ground with his legs tucked to his chest and hands buried beneath his arms to see if he could at least keep some semblance of body heat.

He didn't know how long he waited, but it wasn't an excruciatingly long time before the red-headed American swooped down from the gray skies. As soon as he saw Joe, he re-entered his acceleration mode. Joe looked frozen beyond belief.

"Come on, we're getting you back inside!" Jet shouted over a particularly loud blast of thunder. Joe made no reply. Jet let out a disgruntled sigh and nudged his leader's shoulder none too gently. There was still no reply. He knew what had to happen, lest he face the wrath of his other eight comrades. This time, he pried Joe's hands out from his arms and managed to drape one of the limbs over his shoulders. Joe's legs unfolded easily enough, allowing Jet to fly and carry him.

Now the only issue was to get back and hope for the best.

**Even though secrets are lost in our eyes,  
****We will never unfasten our arms from each other.**

Francoise was standing at the door, waiting for Jet to return. He wasn't long. In his arms was Joe, whom Francoise could identify without zooming her vision in. Jet landed and Francoise gasped. It was Joe, she knew that, but he was in even worse condition than when they'd lost him.

"He was like this when I found him, so don't get scared that I did this." Jet verified, stepping inside. Francoise could have cared less. She busied herself with smoothing his matted hair away from his face. Her fingers pulled the tangles and knots from it as best they could until he took a shower. It really wasn't for him. It was for her, to make sure she was still alive, still breathing, still watching Joe. Panic had long since taken control of her mind, and tears fell slowly as she stared at the sleeping face.

"I'll go put him in his room. Do you want to stay with him overnight, or should I get the professor?" Jet asked, already walking up the stairs. He knew not to try anything funny with her in this state. Turning, he could see her nod as she closed the door. Joe's bedroom was the third to the left, so kicking the door open, Jet stepped in. Needless to say, it was a mess, and he had to kick several more things about before he could reach the bed. Once he did, he laid Joe on the bed and managed to kick his way back out on a different path.

"We should get changed now that he's back." Francoise said, her voice soft. Her face was cast down to watch the stairs as she climbed them. Jet placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Francoise, try to relax a bit more. Joe's here, and he's not about to run away any time soon. I'll see if Doctor Gilmore is still awake. I don't think he could sleep through this, but still." Jet said, meeting her eyes. A worn smile crept over her face.

"…Thank you, Jet. I'll change, then go check on him." Francoise replied, continuing on her way. She managed a glimpse at the clock. It was well past midnight; rather, it was closer to one in the morning. Pushing her own bedroom door open, she began to change out of the red and gold standard uniform and into pajamas. She was fast about her process. She wanted to see Joe again.

"So, how are they?" Albert asked, waiting on the couch in the living room for Jet. Jet shook his head.

"Joe's frozen, but she'd be better off right now in a nuthouse." Jet answered. "Is the professor still up?"

Albert shrugged. "I fell asleep for a while, so I woke up when I heard you get back. He may be, but I can't be sure. It's past one now. I'm inclined to think that yes, he is asleep."

Jet rolled his eyes and let out a long sigh. "It's been a long night for all of us. Do you want to tell Francoise that she should stay with him in that room overnight? I feel like getting out of this thing."

Awaking with a start, Joe saw his own bedroom, back at what he was able to call his home. It was warm around him, but he was still cold. Then he figured out why. He still had on the wet uniform. When had he gotten back?

"Joe!" Francoise cried, locking her arms around him. Joe didn't know how to respond to her outburst. He rested an arm on her back as she pinned him to the bed. He could hear her soft sobs and felt them in his shoulder.

"We-we've been worr-orried sick about you!" She managed between sobs. She lifted her golden head out of his shoulder and caught a glimpse into her aquamarine eyes. They were swirling with so many emotions that he couldn't begin to pick them out.

"Go back to bed, I can tell you in the morning what happened." She ordered. He looked at his clothes. They weren't the uniform, nor did they even resemble it. Not caring any more about the matter, he closed his eyes once more and drifted off into sleep once more.

**Pale moon of January, hide the colors of the sunrise.  
****The gentle dawn of a night that should not end.**

It was four o'clock and seventeen minutes. As she gazed at the red glow of the clock's numbers, she sighed and shook her head. It was late and she'd only slept for an hour and a half. Still, she replaced the cold cloth on his forehead and stood up dizzily to go downstairs and find something to eat. She knew Chang had hours before he awoke, as did everyone else.

The lights were off in the living room, but the light above the stove in the large circular kitchen was left on. Her still damp feet made slight noises as she walked across the false marble ground to reach the refrigerator. The bright light stung her eyes.

"It's late. You should be asleep."

Francoise whirled around to see Albert standing in the doorway and tried to calm her pounding heart. He flipped the lights on and crossed the kitchen to join her. She breathed a deep breath of relief that it was only him.

"So, why are you down here? Joe's upstairs." Albert commented. Francoise nodded and drew away from the chill inside the refrigerator. "Speaking of him, how is he?"

"He has a fever of one hundred." Francoise replied. "He woke up for a few minutes a couple of hours ago, but not since then." She began to rummage through one of the cabinets. "I've slept less than two hours all of today and yesterday. Albert…I'm tired."

"Then why not go to bed? I'll sit in with Joe the rest of the night." He said, smiling kindly at her. She closed the cabinet and looked at Albert. Slowly, she shook her head and walked across to another part of the kitchen.

"I can't. I…I'm too scared…to loose him again. It was bad enough not being able to find him…but…but…" Francoise tried to explain, looking at nothing in particular.

_"GO! I DON'T WANT **YOU **TO GET HURT!" _

_"__But what about you?" _

_"I don't care! I **need** you to be safe!"_

_"JOE! WATCH OUT!"_

This time, Francoise completely broke down in tears and wasn't afraid to hide it. Albert decided at that time to look at the clock. It was four-thirty. There were two and a half, maybe three, more hours until dawn.

"Sit down, Francoise. I'll make you tea." Albert offered. Francoise did so with no questions asked and continued to cry.

Albert could relate somewhat to how the French woman felt; though she had not been as involved in the fight as he had been. She had had to stand and watch as Joe was shot through the shoulder. And then Joe had told her that he didn't want to see her hurt. Albert was a little surprised that Joe hadn't woken up to the fact that telling women straight-out that you loved them was easier. Then again, women had such vast amounts of emotion that they could each fill up their own ocean.

The water in the teakettle reached a boil and whistled sharply. Albert lifted it off the burner and poured it equally into two mugs. He opened the cupboard and took out two teabags and put one into each mug. Lifting them, he handed one to Francoise. She nodded in her thanks and continued to cry gently with her hands clasped around the mug's warmth.

Both were silent. Rain continued its relentless pound outside on the ground, the trees, the windows, everything. Wind raced through the sheets of rain, as if daring it to follow through the topmost leaves of the highest trees. Suddenly, the lights flickered off. They went back on in a matter of seconds.

Albert continued to watch Francoise, worried that she'd pass out. She knew it, too. Her tears continued to fall and several emotions exploded through her head at once. But it wasn't as bad as before. She kept some of it held inside. She wanted Joe to know that she felt the same way. She couldn't stand to see him hurt like that. She went insane when she couldn't see him or hear his voice. She panicked if he was lost. She needed him to get better so he could take care of her.

Finally, she sipped the tea. It was plenty strong now. The warmth spread through her body rapidly, from her fingertips to her feet. At the same time, the sensation caused her to shiver involuntarily. But she soon recovered from that and drank more. It calmed her.

"Feeling better?" Albert asked. Francoise lifted her head to look at him. She felt his pale blue eyes scanning her own.

"I am. I'll get back up there, but before I go, thank you, Albert." Francoise said, standing and taking the mug with her.

Albert grinned. "You're welcome. Once it's a reasonable time, I'll wake the professor and you can get some rest."

There was no response; she was back upstairs. Albert rinsed his own mug out and placed it in the dishwasher, then turned to leave the kitchen. He turned the lights off and smiled to himself.

Only three hours until dawn.

**Because of love's heaviness, painfully close,  
****The heart no longer mine cried for freedom.**

There was something tapping on the windowpanes. His half-awake brain tried to process it, but failed. Then it came to him. It was the rain. If it was raining, why was it so hot in most of his body, but his head was so cold? It made no sense; then again, not very much had since all the cyborgs had shown up.

_"NOOOOOOO!"_

_She shot, aiming for the thing's chest. She had only missed by a hair, but that hair cost her. The giant control cyborg took aim for Francoise, but he accelerated toward her as it shot. _

"_JOE!"_

_"GO! I DON'T WANT **YOU **TO GET HURT!" _

_"But what about you?"_

"_I don't care! I **need** you to be safe!"_

"_JOE! WATCH OUT!"_

"_Get out of here. I can handle this thing."_

_He heard an unamused laugh. That was Jet, since he could also hear the rockets. Several shots fired in close proximity to his left ear, and as he turned, he saw GB, as an overly large bird, carrying Albert so he could fire._

"_You're hurt, face it. The only way we can win is if we work together." _

_A single shot cut through the rain. The giant control cyborg shot out harmless beams of light, then erupted. From the hilltop, Joe could hear Francoise sobbing. And he knew why, too._

"_Let's get going. We have a long way home."_

Past there he couldn't remember. There were fragments of what happened, but none of them had come together to form a single cohesive thought. He stared up at the ceiling, wondering what had really happened after the fight. It was insanely confusing. He lay there for minutes, maybe hours, possibly seconds.

Joe didn't know how it happened, but he turned his head to see Francoise, asleep with her head on her arms and leaning on the bed, right there next to him. He struggled to sit up, wanting to know what was wrong with her. Had one of the cyborgs hit her? Was she sick from being in the rain? Her hair was dry, but even in the room's darkness, he could see that it was knotted and uncombed. His eyes scanned over her. No, she wasn't hurt, at least physically.

Passing over her sleeping form, he saw the rest of his room. It came as a shock that it was clean. He _loathed _cleaning. He liked being messy. But he quickly got over it. His focus instead turned to the large weight suddenly on top of him.

"Do you know how _scared _I was?" Francoise demanded into his stomach. Her arms were tightly fastened around his waist, and the rest of her body now sat on the bed with him. He felt his heart rate jump up as she started to cry. She pushed him back into the pillows and repositioned herself so she sat next to him, but still kept her hand on top of his.

"Are _you _okay?" Joe asked, looking up into her eyes. She kept looking down into his, all the while keeping her hand on top of his.

"I won't be okay until you are. _Your _temperature has gotten up to a hundred and two, and _you _have a severe bullet wound in your left shoulder. No, I'm _not _okay." Francoise replied, now looking away. Joe remained in stunned silence. He felt her warm tears hit his cheeks. He didn't know why, why in a thousand years would he be happy to see her cry, but something inside him was glowing.

Gently, he pulled her down so she too had her head on the pillow. Up close, her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks rubbed red. He brought her closer to his too-warm body and held her there as she cried.

"Francoise…Francoise…I'm sorry." He whispered. She looked out from his chest. Joe could see the hope stored in her eyes; this was what she wanted. She brushed the hair out of his other eye and smiled sadly.

"It's only five thirty-seven. Go back to sleep, you're sick from being outside in the storm for so long." Francoise said, sitting herself up once more. She took the cloth of Joe's forehead, dipped it in the basin of water on his nightstand, wrung it out, and placed it back to his warm skin.

"Have you been waiting for me…the whole time?" Joe asked. She nodded. "How long after the fight was I…in the storm?"

"Nearly three hours." Francoise said. "It was past one when Jet came home with you. I was _terrified_, Joe, I couldn't find you."

The same sensation that something was glowing inside him came again. Francoise was worried for him. He looked at the ceiling again. Next to him, he felt Francoise resume her previous sleeping position.

"You know, you can sleep up here with me." Joe offered, moving over. No reply came from Francoise. She was sound asleep. Joe let out the breath he'd been holding, pulled the sheets up further, and closed his eyes.

**When shining things existed only in dark places,  
****I gazed out the small window into the distance.**

The downstairs clock alerted Chang that it was six in the morning, time to start cooking breakfast. He grumbled and hit the snooze button. Looking out the small window parallel to his bed, he could see light beginning to appear behind the clouds.

Francoise was seeing the same thing from Joe's window. She had heard the alarm be silenced suddenly, and didn't blame the cook for that. None of them had an easy night after the cyborgs showed up. Save maybe Ivan, he had been asleep. Despite that fact, he had probably heard all about it through his telepathic connection to them. She sighed and looked next to her. Joe was still asleep.

She yawned and stretched her arms out. The rain had picked up once more and its _drip-drip-drip _echoed through the sleeping household. It was almost musical, in a sense. She smiled slightly and reached for the mug of cold tea. Long before it reached her mouth, she realized it was empty and set it back down on Joe's nightstand. Again, she smiled. She had put on her pajamas in hopes of falling asleep, not staying up all night. This time, however, she stood up and picked up the mug.

Her feet made no noise at all on the carpeted floor of the hallway. Going down the stairs wasn't a challenge, but she jumped over the seventh from the bottom because, for some reason, it always creaked. Still, no one was awake downstairs. Maybe Albert was still wandering about, but it was doubtful. The kitchen floor was still cold, and the light above the stove was still on.

"JET! I TOLD YOU TO STAY…oh, Francoise. It's only you." Chang came running as fast as he could at the sound of the sink faucet running. Finding it was only Francoise; he stopped short of a head-on collision with her.

"I won't be long. I just need to boil more water for tea, that's all." She explained, placing the mug in the dishwasher, then closed it once again. She opened the teakettle and poured water in.

"Let me do it. Go back with him." Chang said. Without any argument, she did. It gave both of them a reasonable excuse to do what they needed to do. Chang could be awake and cooking without being accused of a nervous habit of making things. Francoise could be upstairs and simply say that she was waiting for him.

"So it really _wasn't _all a nightmare…" Jet said, half spaced out and standing against his room's doorframe. "How is he? Any better?"

"Not very, but we've talked. He doesn't remember getting lost." Francoise replied. "He'll be fine. It's better than it has been in the past."

"Have you slept?" Jet asked, pushing himself away from the frame and stepping across the hall toward her.

"Less than two hours, but yes." She said. "Don't worry about me, Jet. I'll live, just a little more tired."

Jet rolled his eyes. Being near her when she was tired and stressed was like stepping into a cage with a hungry lion. It was for the most part dark in the house, and just as he began to adjust to the lights on downstairs, the power went out. Unlike the few seconds two hours before, the power stayed out. The wind sent the chairs on the back deck flying against the outer walls and the sound caused them both to jump.

"Come and see him." Francoise offered, opening the door to Joe's room. Jet noticed instantly that someone, namely Francoise, had cleaned it. Joe lay on the bed, and at that moment, chose to grind his teeth and squirm away from something in his dreams. This caused the sheets to fall away from his left shoulder, revealing the tightly wrapped bandages around the wound. Blood had clearly seeped through, causing a bright red stain visible even in the darkness.

"That _had _to hurt." Jet commented. "Did he get sick from being outside?"

"Yes." She answered softly. Jet knew that he'd hit the limit with her. Anywhere beyond, she'd be worse than the rain outside. He gazed out the window, into the rain. It was lighter out there than it was inside, even with all the sunroofs. What a help they were when it was pouring outside and the power was out.

He knew what it was like to soar above those clouds and drop through their clingy wetness. Okay, it hadn't been his best idea, or the best idea to accept that dare. But up past all the gray, you could only see blue, white, and insanely bright yellow light. The best was to watch a sunrise above the clouds. As it broke past their barrier, the moon faded out finally and red, then pink, orange, purple, and finally brilliant yellow poured over them.

"Are you going to stay up?" Francoise asked. Jet looked at the clock. It read 6:13.

"I guess so, I mean, I'll have to get up for breakfast soon enough anyway, so what's the point in trying?" He said. "You go sleep. I'm pretty sure the professor will be up soon, so then we'll have the same thing."

"You mean, pointlessly going to sleep?" Francoise asked.

"Yes…I mean, no! Then you won't have to be awake!" Jet rushed his explanation. Francoise sat down in the chair positioned next to the bed. "Well…sleep the rest of the day, then. And it is _freezing_…wait, we don't have power."

**Pale moon of January, sinking into infinity.  
****The gentle dawn of a love that should not end.**

Breathing a sigh of relief, Francoise laid the thermometer down on the nightstand. She took a long sip of tea and kept her hands pressed around the steaming mug. It relaxed her to know his fever was down again, but she was still nervous. And Jet was right: she had one of Joe's sweatshirts on and had briefly left to go put on socks.

She focused her vision beyond the clouds to see if the sun had risen yet. It hadn't. But it was much lighter outside. The power had been out now for ten minutes and Chang had been forced to set things on fire in order to cook. Outside, more of the chairs had finally given up and submitted to being knocked over.

"Have you slept?"

She jumped up out of her chair in shock and a yelp of surprise escaped her lips. Joe couldn't help but laugh as she did this. She turned around to glare at him, though she was not at all mad. His laugh turned into a barking cough and she instantly sat down next to him. He still managed to keep the same smile on his face through it. The wind sent the leaves flying off the trees and plastered them to the window where they were stuck with rainwater.

"You, Jet, and Albert all have one-track minds." She noted, frowning slightly. She put on a slightly pouting look, but then seeing the hurt look on Joe's face she quickly wiped it away. Still, his eyes were shining with laughter. Making sure he wouldn't startle her again, she sat down on the bed next to him and changed the cloth on his forehead.

"You didn't have to stay up all night with me, Francoise." Joe said. This rewarded him with a half-body slam half-hug from her. She lay there on his chest, knowing that he'd have to stay here with her. His right arm moved so it was placed across her back.

"Yes, I did. I lost you once, Joe, I couldn't loose you again. I wouldn't even be miserable…I'd be worse, a million times worse." She replied, looking into his one visible eye. "_You _didn't need to get shot to tell me that you love me."

This caused Joe to flush pink. Inside, he was radiating joy. Francoise was lying on top of him and had just indirectly stated that she loved him. She had been up, even though she could have been asleep, with _him_. Not Albert, not Jet, not GB, not Pyunma, but _him_. Right in the middle of his thoughts, he began to cough again.

"Don't stay here with me. You don't want to get sick, do you?" Joe asked, nudging her.

"I don't care." Francoise mumbled. "I'm staying with you."

Her blue-green eyes looked up at him, asking him if this was right. He squeezed her with his one uninjured arm as his reply. Neither of them moved or said anything, just lay there with one another. It began to hail outside, and thunder distantly rumbled. Even the rain suddenly became heavier. All the while, it was getting brighter.

All the noise caused Albert to wake up. He had the room across from Joe, and both their doors were open. He saw Francoise on top of Joe and smiled. He then looked at his small clock. It was six forty-two. Dawn was less than twenty minutes away. He rolled out of bed, trying to make as little noise as possible as to not disturb the two across the hall.

Less than twenty minutes away.

**Pale moon of January, hide the colors of the sunrise.  
****The gentle dawn of a night that should not end.**

The rain slowed and the hail stopped. The gentle pattering on the windows threatened to lull Francoise to sleep on top of Joe, but she soundly refused this proposition. She was insanely comfortable in both body and mind, and tired everywhere, but did not want this to end.

Without even thinking about it, she focused her vision out the window once more. A fantastic beam of red shot out. Past the clouds, the sun was rising. She turned all of her attention there. More beams of red shot out and turned the sky yellow-orange. The night was over, and they were alive.

In a closer range, a small burst of lightning went off and there was a dull ring of thunder in the skies outside. Joe could hear the heat go on and Jet's loud shout of "YES!". The stove went back on and Chang did his excited giggle that he always did when he was going to cook something special. Morning was beginning officially now. But today, he didn't want it all that badly. He was with Francoise, and that was all he needed. She sneezed into his chest.

"Sounds like you're sick too, now." Joe kidded her, but she didn't hear him. She was too focused in on the sunrise. Pink lit up the sky as a giant red orb rose over a reflective ocean. Day had begun. Rain continued its tapping on the windows and ground outside.

"What was that?" She asked, rubbing her nose.

"I think we're going to be together in this room for a while." Joe replied. She sneezed again. "Bless you."

She smiled. "I can go to sleep now."

"Then do, and sleep well." Joe said. In under a minute, she was asleep. He sighed, and then he too fell back asleep.

Night was over, and day could begin.

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…

…

THAT WAS **LONG**. Thank you so much for reading down this far, and I really hope you enjoyed it! Leave a review or flame, and we'll see you in the next sogfic!


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